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Brothers due to be released in home slaying

By ANTONIO PLANAS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Two brothers arrested on murder and drug charges earlier this month were expected to be released from county jail today because charges have not been filed against them, according to a representative with the Clark County district attorney’s office.

Tess Driver, executive assistant to District Attorney David Roger, said Richard Saterstad, 31, and Martin Saterstad, 25, were authorized to be released by a Justice Court judge this morning. Driver said Las Vegas police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the Saterstads’ arrest, saying there is no statute of limitations on murder.

Las Vegas police could not be reached for comment today. According to the Clark County Detention Center’s Web site, the Saterstads were still in custody as of late this afternoon. The brothers were arrested Oct. 16 on murder and several drug-related charges after one man was killed at their home during what police described as a “drug-related robbery.”

According to an arrest report, the Saterstads were running a marijuana-growing operation out of their home.

The report said the brothers told police that “several masked subjects had forced their way into the residence through the rear door and attacked the older brother. One of the intruders was armed with a pistol, the report said.

Martin Saterstad descended the stairs and shot at the intruders with a shotgun at least three times, striking at least two of them, the report states. The intruders then fled.

About 10 minutes after the shooting, someone used a cell phone to call Richard Saterstad, claiming the brothers had “shot one of his people,” and that he was coming to their residence.

After the caller’s arrival, he and the two brothers discovered the victim in the backyard for the first time, the report said.

The brothers recognized the victim as a man named Dane. The Clark County coroner office identified the victim as Dane Searcy, 25, of Las Vegas, and said he died from gunshot wound to the right buttock.

Police discovered Searcy in the backyard, on his back, arms bent and elbows extended in clear signs of rigor mortis.

“The position of the body was consistent with death occurring earlier and having been moved to its current location,” the report stated.

Alane Olson, a medical examiner with the coroner’s office, said rigor mortis can occur as quickly as 30 minutes to an hour after death.

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